Nix is not a "required skill" by any means, but it fixes a very annoying problem that you may-or-may-not face related to dependency conflicts. NixOS also has atomic updates.

I think calling it hipster is a bit odd. Its not like I would say Java is a bad tool because I don't use it for embedded stuff. Java is fantastic for enterprise and even start up contexts.

Similar arguments can be made with emacs. Its a text editor, and you can do a bunch if stuff with it. Vim is also good. Jetbrains is also good. There's a bunch of other good ones. It probably depends on what you're doing. It'd be a more meaningful discussion if you defined a problem space.

I probably would have ignored your post of it wasn't for the TikTok comment. Nix useage is sort of thoughtful-by-design, which is antithetical to TikTok use. Rubbed me the wrong way.

You just wrote a multi-paragraph post about how someone’s hobby is a waste of time, which is ironic, because surely writing that post was just as much a waste of your time.

>Where do they find the time to play like this?

For me it started in university when I had more unstructured time and continued post graduation because I found it more interesting than most TV, video games etc.

Feels surreal to see “normies REEEE” type sentiment applied to old-software hackers on a hacker forum :P

Skimming over the contents of the "About" page linked in the navigation at the top of the blog, it looks to answer most of your questions ;)

https://glorifiedgluer.com/about

The OP appears to be student and software engineer that is employed writing F# and Nix, and made the blog purely as an outlet to document the things they are interested in (and good on them that).

Hi, I use Nix and Emacs at work. I have, at points in the past, promised to write a blog post about how we use Nix.

It's not about being hip or fringe. Nix solves problems we have. And we're not the only ones. The founder of Hashicorp puts it this way:

> I'm actively trying to work through my Nix God complex. It's been so long that when I see non-Nix users complain about issues getting software to run, I'm truly confused. It's like someone looking at a river lamenting about having to ford it while I'm riding a bicycle on a bridge

(https://twitter.com/mitchellh/status/1650201460234412032)

Nix isn't ready to be mainstream yet. That doesn't mean you should talk down to those who are working towards that today. It is entirely possible that you may end up working with it yourself in due time.

Maybe Nix is pretty niche (though getting bigger -- I've heard several "hey this seems like something we should look at" type conversation about it at my very technically conservative company) but emacs is very, very old (predating Linux even) and definitely not "trendy." If anything, the perception on the mailing lists is that emacs is on the way out unless a new generation of users/maintainers can be recruited.

>How "fringe" can I be. How niche of technologies can I use. How deep down a rabbit hole can I go avoiding mainstream "technologies".

As a Nix user, I'd say this is the wrong characterization. It's not about being niche, bikeshedding, or yak shaving. It's just about getting as close as possible to perfection.

> Where do they find the time to play like this?

Those are hobbies. It's healthy to have them. Some people like to run, some play musical instruments, some poke around non-mainstream software.

I've used Nix at my last 5 jobs. It's how I learned it (mostly as a build tool and package manager). I also started to use NixOS for my desktops after using NixOS for server config at a few of those companies.

emacs isn't hipster imo. Maybe some people treat it as such? But I learned it in university when I was learning to code in C and Scheme and never looked back. It's always been the boring choice.

I'd say they are very practical choices for a specific type of person who likes principled software and hacking.

I don't blog about either of them though :)

I'm not sure I see your point. Nix is cross-platform, emacs is cross-platform, and make is cross-platform. With the exception of Nix, make and emacs have been in use by many, many shops for decades. It just doesn't get talked about much because they're long past being considered fun and sexy.

Sounds like you are just being grumpy.